Out of the Fire and Into the Frying Pan
by DelightingYouAlways
Summary: "No knives, Mai?" He questioned against her lips as he continued the work of his fingers on her legs. "I'm a little impatient tonight. Thought I'd help us along." Sex with Zuko was always on fire. Lemon & Fluff. Mai and Zuko reunited.


**Author's note: Descriptive sex ahead. You are warned. Maiko goodness. Set a day after the ending of the war. Zuko's injured chest ignored. I'm thinking of doing a multi-chaptered fic on life after the end of the war about the entire gang. **

**What do you think?**

**Let me know. Opinions are welcomed and wanted.**

**My first attempt at a lemon and some fluff.**

* * *

Zuko's mouth went dry. Mai smirked at the way his gold eyes followed her as she entered his barely lit room.

Of course, she was always stunning, in a quiet way with her skin all covered up. It seemed like she was perpetually in long sleeves and draping robe which was the norm for the conservative style of the higher classes of the fire nation. The only other time that Zuko saw her dressed down was at the beach on Ember Island. And that was weeks ago. But this time she was in a small black nightgown and although he once believed it impossible, she was even more stunning tonight. Silk, Zuko decided. The same silk she wore the last time they...

"Hey." She greeted quietly.

"Mai, what are you doing here?" He hit himself internally, after all these years he hadn't gotten any better using words around her.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Obviously, not trying to spend time with my boyfriend."

Zuko cursed himself inwardly. It only occurred to him that he hadn't seen her the whole day between writing his speech, practicing his speech and tearing up his speech and writing it again.

"No, please stay, Mai."

Wordlessly she made her way over to the side of the bed, pausing before sitting down, gracefully swinging one knee over the other. Eying the scrolls he held loosely in his hands, she asked,

"How is it coming along?"

Zuko winced as he tossed her the scripts. With his face scrunched up, he gripped his neck like a frazzled boy in trouble and waited for her input.

Mai glanced over the writings and her brows shot up her forehead.

"The war of a hundred years is finally to an end, but it is not without sacrifice, it is not without damages, it is not without scars. I understand that the Fire Nation is a proud nation, but we can no longer be proud people, the suffering of the world has caught up with us and the now faced with the pinnacle of all horrors of war and the heights of injustice that we as a nation have committed, we enter a time of penance..."

Even with Mai's rather unemotional reading of it, once he heard it aloud, he realized how bleak and raucous it sounded. It was supposed to be a speech that would challenge people and harden their skin so they could rise up to the hardships of the future, not a blinding blow to their hopes for a better and peaceful life.

Mai scanned the rest of the speech and her voice trailed off. Promptly, she rolled the script up.

He grimaced and waited for a biting comment. But it never came.

"This needs work." She stated neutrally.

"Needs work? It needs a complete redo! It's terrible!" He groaned. "How - Mai? It's not going to work! I can't even make a stupid speech, how am I going to..."

"The speech is not stupid." Mai shook her head. "It's truthful, maybe a little dour, but the content is spot on. We just need to make your point come across in a more uplifting fashion."

"_Uplifting_?" Zuko echoed her stupidly. He stared at his girlfriend as if she grew a second head. Mai rolled her eyes. "Not everyone can function as efficiently as me whilst being in touch with reality."

Zuko smiled. Leave it to Mai, the most pessimistic person he knew to infuse optimism into his speech. "Is that so?" He mused, pulling the parchment out of her hands and tracing her delicate collarbones with his fingers. He chucked the script in the direction of the nightstand and focused his attention on her smooth alabaster skin, speech writing and duties of being Fire Lord all forgotten.

"Mm. I'll help you."

"Good. Because I obviously need your help."

He dipped his head into the curve of her neck and nipped the soft skin below her jaw. Remembering the fireworks and celebration of the previous night, it paled in comparison with the fireworks he was feeling now.

Tracing her jaw with his tongue, he slowly slid his palm up her thigh, relishing the warmth of her body before meeting her soft lips and sharing his saliva with her.

Tentatively, he felt around her upper thighs for her hidden arsenal of knives but was surprised to find none.

"No knives, Mai?" He questioned against her lips as he continued the work of his fingers on her legs.

"I'm a little impatient tonight. Thought I'd help us along." She pulled away momentarily, just enough for him to see the alluring pale pink blush wash over her face.

He deepened the kiss, gently sucking her tongue and pinched her skin while gripping her close against his body. Mai melted into him without resistance. They had waited far too long to play games. She pressed her lips back eagerly and hissed as his hands found the apex of her legs.

"I miss having to unarm you though." He murmured between kisses and gasps for air.

Mai smiled. She never knew he took pleasure in that. The first time he was tentative what with him being unfamiliar with the map out of body and the added maze of sharp weapons. Mai found him to be a fast learner. The second time he unarmed her skillfully and with admirable precision and that wasn't all he was precise about the second time.

"There will be plenty of opportunities for that in the future." She decided, curling her fingers into his mess of hair and biting down on his lower lip.

Zuko let out a moan before sliding down against the mass of pillows on his bed, taking Mai with him. "Is that a promise?" He chuckled as she bounced on top of him slightly, finding her space.

"If you don't forget about me, sure." She said it with such practiced eased that Zuko might have missed it if he didn't know her better.

Guilt hit him with a pang. "That's impossible. I was really occupied. I forgot the time. Not you." It was the truth.

Mai shrugged nonchalantly and leaned down to continue their kiss.

"I missed you." He continued to talk into her lips. His hands slid away from her sex and onto her smooth toned stomach and he traced the familiar lines leading up to her breasts.

"I missed you too."

Suddenly, he stopped his ministrations and pulled Mai away from him with his hands on her shoulders. A wave of emotion came over him. _She had to know._ He decided.

His eyes glowed a hot gold and Mai swallowed, recognizing that look on his face and what usually followed after it. Deftly, he pushed her onto the mattress of his bed and pinned down her limbs with his body.

"No, you don't understand. _I missed you." _He choked out, pain evident in his voice and etched onto his face.

"I know." She answered softly. She licked her lips, Zuko being on top of her was extremely arousing and she was tired of talk. Talking wouldn't get rid of all the hard history behind them and neither would it give them back the years war had taken away from their coupling.

"I don't think you do." He rasped throatily. With his eyes, burning and his throat, dry; he was aching with want for her yet he kept the distance between their bodies, staring at her like it was the first time.

It might as well have been the first time for Zuko. All his memories of their intimate coupling and making love seemed so unreal and fantastic on the road away from home that he had almost convinced himself that it was a dream. A cruel, cruel dream that would never be realized. But there she was, a picture of perfection with her shining raven hair undone, fanning out behind her head like a halo and her silk nightdress hitched up her legs, exposing her creamy alabaster skin and a glimpse of her sex. Never before, Zuko thought, had Mai looked so fucking tantalizing.

Mai watched his eyes roam over her body with curiosity. What was he thinking?

She could mock him for his lack of action, tell him how his weight was stopping her blood circulation...

But Mai _really_ wanted him and that familiar glint in his eyes, she decided, had a little more spark to it tonight.

"Show me," she whispered slightly inaudibly.

He questioned her with his eyes.

"You say I don't know, so show me."

He didn't need to be told twice.

With all his pent up frustration, childhood grieves and love that seemed to slip away from him, he kissed her. He didn't think it possible. A kiss was just a kiss. But time with Mai was slowly teaching him otherwise. He poured his emotions and thoughts into that kiss, hoping that she would understand with action what he couldn't put into words.

He unpinned her limbs and released her shoulders to let his hands wander all over her body. Every inch he wanted to touch. Impatiently, he broke the kiss to quickly shed his clothing and scramble back onto her again. He wanted with an almost desperate vigor to feel their flesh mould together. Their fingers connected and together they pushed the silk dress above her head.

Groaning, he pulled her into him, desperate to feel her body meshed against his. Mai's hands trailed his back, subconsciously she counted the number of fresh scrapes and a cuts he had picked up from his time away from her.

His skin was hot as always, being a bender, Mai was sure that the temperature of his skin was almost always slightly warmer than the norm and when wrapped up with her between the sheets, Mai was positive his skin heated up the point where he could burn her. She gasped as he pulled his mouth away from her before dipping down to her breasts, suckling on one of it tips. He was making no waste of time. With an almost painful force, he cupped her breast and bit down on her hard, reveling in her impossible softness and flawlessness of skin. Mai bit her lip, determined not to cry out.

He released her breast and began to cover her skin with kisses, from her throat all the way to her feet. Pushing her leg forward, he bent her leg at the knee and admired her perfectly dainty toes. Each nail painted a dark red that he loved against her skin. He displayed a contrasting gentleness than before as he slowly licked her toes, one by one before wrapping the biggest one in his mouth. Mai's eyes flew open as she felt him suck on her flesh. Fingernails dug into the sheets below her. She wasn't aware such a simple action could be so arousing. Zuko smirked down at her with a sort of triumphant look in his eyes; he loved surprising her.

In one swift motion, she threw herself at Zuko. She was pressed against his chest, foot withdrawn from his mouth and her face, a mere inch away from his. He watched her, mesmerization evident in the way his smoldering eyes were glazed over with lust.

Slowly, Mai picked up his limp hand and took his index finger between her teeth.

Her tongue flicked over the digit and Zuko felt the jolt of pleasure rush straight to his groin. His eyes fluttered shut as she wrapped her lips around his finger, pushing it in and out of her warm wet mouth suggestively. He groaned and pushed a second finger into her mouth, increasing his pleasure. Mai felt his manhood throb and twitch expectantly against her inner thigh and felt her own desire grow.

She nibbled on his fingers before letting go of them, allowing her lips to fall to his chest and litter his muscles with kisses that trailed down to his groin. His bones shivered in anticipation, fully remembering the pleasures that was about to come but he stopped her before she took him in.

He pushed her down roughly onto the bed and gave her a searing kiss before positioning himself on top of her.

"I can't wait." He half told her and asked her for her permission. Mai nodded in understanding. She couldn't either.

"Then don't."

She arched her hips upwards, meeting his sex and rubbing her wetness against his shaft, explaining her desires. With a low growl he gripped her hips tightly and ground against her wantonly, she was pushing him to an edge he wasn't ready to fall off.

Mai fell back against the bed again, heart beating wildly in her chest and her sex aching. The knot in her stomach was tightening and she craved sweet release. He buried his face into the small of her neck and breathed his hot breath against her skin before entering her. She gasped and winced as he pushed apart her internal walls. It had been a while. He grasped the small of her back, finding a small cool blade of metal. Quickly he pulled it from it's sheath and threw it away to the wall.

A small unnoticed thud.

Zuko's face scrunched up with pleasure. She was unbelievably tight. He forced himself to still, waiting for Mai to accommodate his size. When she bit down on his shoulder, he understood and began to move in her. Her slippery hot wetness combined with the tightness of her clenching pussy was hard for him to bear. It was sensory overload. All of her smell, taste and feel titillated every fibre of his being.

As for Mai...she was burning up. She felt like she was on fire - in a good way - if there was one. Every part where their skin met became ablaze. Every push and pull inside of her ignited her. She loved the feeling of being filled by him.

Clenching his jaw, he forced his eyes open to take in her beauty. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead like crystals against her skin. Her lips were wet with saliva and parted in the sweetest moan he had ever heard. He thrust forward especially hard and her body convulsed beneath him. He snapped his eyes shut, willing to restrain himself a little longer for both of their pleasure.

Their hips met noisily. Her nails against his back felt _so good_. He felt her moisture leaking down her thighs. She relented and cried out as he increased his pace. He pulled at her smooth long locks.

Zuko gritted his teeth. It was too soon. He wasn't going to last any longer.

"Mai." He hissed into her neck.

She clutched his thigh in understanding. Every thrust became harder and hit at all the right spots. Mai felt the little fight she put up against him crumble, the knot in her stomach was pulled taut, her sex filled with his own. She was ready to let go. Bright orange and red streaks crossed her closed eyes.

He hit the peak first, pulling away from her because his breaths came out in hot spits of fire.

Mai followed quickly and panted to catch her breath.

Zuko rolled off her quickly, knowing he wasn't in control of his body or his bending and clutched his chest, willing himself to calm down. A few moments passed and his blurry vision cleared and his muscles ceased their sporadic convulsions, leaving him feeling a little high and very relaxed.

Mai let out a rare chuckle as she propped herself up on her elbows, observing the damage their love making had done.

The sheets were drenched in sex and sweat. They were also slightly scorched from Zuko's bending. And the scripts that lay forgotten on his nightstand was a pile of smoldering ashes. The dagger, once strapped to the curve of her back was now stuck perpendicular into the wall that was adjacent to their bed. _Oops_, she had forgotten that singular blade.

Zuko followed the path of her eyes and chuckled at the state of their room, postcoital.

"That was..." Zuko started, a ridiculously wide smile covering half of his face.

"It was." Mai agreed with a sly grin.

He rolled to his side to face her. Her hair was amazingly in place. It was slightly loose around her face but rolled off her back like a waterfall. Her porcelain skin had few markings of his grip and fingers but she looked absolutely flawless in his eyes with her after-sex glow and the silver of her eyes practically sparkling in luminescence.

They were finally reunited, he felt. This strange, strange and unorthodox relationship was right and he missed it greatly. Surely the lump of his throat and the odd hitch of his breath that followed when he looked at her. The tugging in his chest meant something. That was just the tip of the iceberg of how he felt for her and not even the beginning of what he would do for her. His throat dried at the emotions he tried to convey. He wasn't sure if showing her through sex was enough. It had to be said.

"Mai, I -"

Mai held her breath and watched him struggle to express himself.

"I," Zuko tried again. "I do, I really do." He explained poorly.

It was the closest to a confession Mai believed he was capable of and luckily for him, it was more than enough for her. She didn't need the words.

Her cheeks turned a pale pink and she lay down next to him, pushing his sweat drenched locks of hair away from his face. Zuko looked at her curiously, marveling at their coupling quietly and wondering if he would ever become better with words around her. Finally, she smiled a small smile and he broke out into a large one.

"I really do too."


End file.
